Kris Kunkel's webpage presentation:
sources for web page:
http://www.business-china.com./art_gall/huang/index.htm
http://www.china-on-site.com/index.html (very good site)
http://tqd.advanced.org/10662/art.htm
http://www.chineseartworks.com/
Books: "The Palace Museum Peking" by Wnego-Weng
"Art Treasures of the Peking Museum" by Fracois Fourcade
"Chinese Landscape Painting" by Sherman Lee
All of the presentations on Wed. were fabulous. The one that caught my attention the most was Chris' autobiography about the difference between her Korean mother and herself. Chris, your writing was so vivid as you explained some of the encounters between the two of you. I think that what you experienced is becoming more and more common, trying to win the attention of your parents. Just last night my fiance was telling me of a story about a kid who was always picked on in school but he was extremely smart and excelled in everything he did. His parents just ignored him and figured he would eventually be alright. He ended up committing suicide at the age of 13 and in the note he left he said that he wished his parents would have payed more attention to him. I'm so glad to see that you have overcome anorexia. Your strength really shined through in your paper when you talked about how you've put your frustration away and learned to accept the differences. Well done Chris. I wish you the best of luck and you complete your goals.
Jenae Cardoza
I really enjoyed the variety of presentations on Women Warrior. The presentation about eating fish stomach in Thailand was pretty interesting. I like the way the speaker parralleled her story with the girl in the story and the different types of food that her mom prepared for her. The lychee was a very creative idea. I remember growing up in Hawaii and my grandfather had his own lychee tree. It brought back memories. I also enjoyed Kris's story about being Korean-American. It is indeed difficult being born and raised in America by your family who is born in a different country with different morals and beliefs. There is definitely a great deal of conflict between the different cultures. Sometimes you have to choose one over the other. I can totally relate to her story because my mom and I used to argue about many things especially our differences in our own beliefs. I try to view her perspective, but find it difficult when she is so stubborn that she refuses to view my perspective. Jodi's presentation on the Chinese symbols and characters was very creative. I really admired her art and the meaning behind each symbol. It looked like it took a lot of time and patience to create. From her presentation I have tried to look at Chinese characters and see that there are actual meaning and pictures that are subliminal in each. The seven kinds of strokes or seven movements that are seven mysteries must be mastered in order to be the one to write for eternity. She could not have said it better. The last presentation was Chris. His art is just magnificent. I used to be an architectural engineering major and I know how much time one drawing can take. I am really impressed with his works and see a positive future. His art has potential. I think that he should put a price on his drawings!
Melanie J. Salvador
I really enjoyed all of the presentations on Wednesday! I especially enjoyed Mandy's "Thank Goodness You're Not What You Eat" presentation. She did an excellent job tying in her personal experiences with those of Maxine's. Her presentation was humorous, as well as informative. The Lychees and candy were a special treat. I appreciated Jodi's presentation on Chinese characters. I did not know the significance of each character or the importance the Chinese culture places on them. Knowing that there are seven strokes to each character, a specific stroke order and over 6000 characters makes the language even more beautiful. That they place this much emphasis on their language shows just how spiritual the Chinese culture is.
Kristin Gerhard
I really enjoyed the presentations last Wednesday. I thought Chris's drawing of scenes from the book was very impresive. I especially liked the drawing of the dragon mountain. I could almost see dragons in the surrounding mountains as i went home, after class. I also enjoyed Jodi's presentation. I found it very interesting to hear how chinese characters evolved. They are much more artistic and complicated than our alphabet. I also enjoyed hearing Mandy's experience with Chinese food. I understand her horror when she found out that she was eating fish stomach. I once had to eat cow stomach when I was younger, since this dish was made especially for my parents and me. It took me a long time to eat beef after that.
Erika Soriano
I loved all the presentations. The presentation by Melanie on her Philipeno background was really interesting. It tied along with the book well. The relationships of parents and children are similar all around the world. The piano lessons she took reminded me of the Joy Luck Club movie. I also enjoyed the presentation on Thailand. It was very humorous. I cringed at the thought of having to eat fish stomach. Reading the book I also made a lot of faces while reading about eating things such as skunk. It is the way that they are prepared that bothers me. The screams coming out of the pot are horrible to imagine. Anyone interested in more Chinese art here is my class website on Asian art:
multimedia.calpoly.edu/libarts/jwetzel/china/china2.html
Lynda Zahn
I was very impressed with all of the presentations given on Wednesday last. I liked the personal stories that Melanie, Mandy and Cris had to share. I especially liked the creative art that Jodi and Chris presented. They both showed a talent for creating aesthetically pleasing presentations. The mountain Chris created was awesome.
Ryan McLoed
I thought Mandy's presentation was a great idea. Pulling the section from the book about lichees and then letting us try them was excellent because it really gave the class an opportunity to experience a small part of the Chinese culture firsthand. I also thought that the lichees were pretty tasty, so it was fun to find a new and different food that I liked.
Nicole Carter
What a creative and diverse class we have! The art work was really unbelievable and showed dedication. Chris's drawings of the Fa Mu Lan section gave me a different perspective than the one my imagination supplied. The fire coming out of the dragon's nostrils was a cool touch. The detail and flow of colors was truly amazing. Jodi's interpretation of Chinese symbols was very interesting. I had no idea that each character contained so much meaning. Chris's web site was awesome also, he put a lot of time into finding some unique landscapes. Melanie's autobiography opened my eyes to differences between Asian cultures. Sometimes we hear news about an Asian country and might tend to think it's true for all Asians. Her presentation emphasized that every country, culture, and even person is unique and should not be judged on external characteristics.
Ben Harrold
Wow! This group of presentations was an incredible collage of creativity and honesty:
Mandy - A delightfully humorous recollection of the sometimes awkward position of the honored guest. This piece was well written and made me laugh out loud.
Melanie - An insightful autobiography written with warmth and caring for the gift of a close family.
Unknown Web Page Master - ( sorry I didn't catch the name ) I am looking forward to browsing all the artwork on your page. It is very timely, as it actually helps with a project I am doing for another class. Thanks!!
Chris - Your autobiography was an incredibly honest look at yourself and your mother. It made me reflect on my relationship not only with my own mother, but also the relationship I have with my seventeen-year-old daughter. I admire the self-awareness and sensitivity that you have.
Ryan - To have your Grandmother write her own story is a wonderful future family heirloom that will be enjoyed by countless generations. You made good comparisons with the book.
Jodi - Very interesting research in the written form of the Chinese language. The characters themselves were beautifully rendered.
Chris - The pastel work shows a talented and creative response to the poetic imagery of the book. I especially liked the white on black piece, it captured the essence of the story so well.
Thanks to all the presenters, Jocelyn Knowlton
The presentation by Ryan on his Italian grandmother was a nice comparison to the family in Woman Warrior. It shows how families of different cultures have some of the same characteristics. I would have liked to have seen the presentation on beer or poker myself. It would have been very interesting, I'm sure. The pictures drawn by Chris were awesome. Incorporating the dragon into the landscape must take a lot of talent. They were very impressive. The first presentation on Chinese landscape paintings impressed me as well. I had no idea the time and thought that went into the designs. It blew me away.
Wes Horner
again, great presentations! i'm a big fan of everyone who went, but i was particularly impressed with chris cho's essay about her mother. it really gave a good perspective of what growing up in a family like the one maxine hong kingston describes in her stories. it was well written and well read. i really enjoyed and appreciated it!
christy radonich
I enjoyed Chris' art work. I was tryingto decide what to do for my presentation, I hoped to get ideas. I did get one, the only problem was his project took way too much talent. There is no way I could do what he did. I always admire great works of art. He did an awsome job.
Mandy Ruth
I was fascinated by the Chinese Landscapes shared during these presentations. The landscapes always evoked images of fantasy and mystery in my head as a kid, and I find they still do. My father had one made out of tapestry, a long scroll of mountains rolling in and out of mist, from the ceiling to the floor in his office. The ideas of harmony you discussed, the repeated circle of life, and elements returning to the sky brings a whole new meaning to those paintings for me.
I am very impressed with Chris' artwork, evoking similar feelings I've had as an architecture student dabbling with the idea of becoming an artist. The way you were able to capture a mixture between mountain and dragon as discussed in MHK's Fa Mu Lan story was beautifully done.
Thoughts about my own Filipino background filled my head during Melanie's presentation. Good memories mixed with the smell of lumpia, ponset, and rice. My mother, however, talks little about coming to the states. She was very young when her parents brought over their seven kids and settled in San Francisco. They were very poor and she prefers not to speak of those hard times. From the little I know, being the oldest daughter, she had to take care of all her brothers and sisters. It was expected of her to clean house and look after her siblings, leaving little time for herself or do the things that her American friends did. It was also very tough on her to marry a Caucasion man; my Filipino grandfather disowning her and not attending their marriage. Today, she only wants to give my sister and I what she never had: be happy with filled tummies, clothes on our backs, and she drives us to seize our opportunities and take advantage of our education.
Michael Nelson
Megan Allen
Jodi did an excellent job presenting the Chinese Characters. Her topic was well researched and very intriguing. I found it very interesting that each character is made up of two words, to create one meaning. It always impresses me that their language is so complex. Chris Cho's presentation dealing with her life compared to the life of Brave Orchid and her daughter. I thought that Chris's description of the customs such as taking off shoes before going in the house, and not wanting her friends to meet her mom, were very interesting. I never assumed that things like this would be embarrassing. Growing up in a predominantly white community, I was not ever exposed to anything like this. Chris, you did an excellent job explaining such a personal subject. Superb. Ryan, your presentation was so great. The letter from your grandma was awesome. It was a great touch, and it made your autobiography very realistic. I am sorry that you got cut short, but it was still a great idea.
All of Wednesday's presentations were great! The personal reflection of Kris Cho talking about her life and how it compared to the relationships in The Woman Warrior was really touching. I could tell that Kris has struggled to learn how to deal with her mother and I was impressed to see how she has changed her way of thinking over the years. She said that now she understands how her mother is and why and she doesn't blame her. I could see that Kris had a lot of the same conflicts that Maxine had growing up in America. I was really glad that she shared her story, because it made Maxine's novel speak for all the generation of American kids who's parents had come from another country. Also, I was very impressed with Chris's paintings. I was glad that Chris chose to do something for his project that he also majors in because I could tell that he enjoyed what he did and spent a lot of time doing it. All the effort paid off because his paintings were beautiful! I could tell that when Chris read "The Woman Warrior" he was also envisioning all of the details in the book. I was very impressed at how he was able to carry out some of the details in the landscape of the novel onto a canvas. Very good job!
Lauren Herrmann
Kris: Web page- I liked Chris's web page. He did a good job of showing different styles of Chinese Art. I went to his web page and enjoyed looking at all the pictures he had. He did a good job of explaining the philosophy behind the artwork: Sky-Nature-Man.
Mandy: "thank goodness your not what you eat" - A very good job of showing us the different kinds of cuisine she ate in Thailand. I liked trying the Lichees-they were different but good.
Ryan: Story of his grandmother- A interesting look at emigrants in the United States. His story showed the hardship and struggle for a better life that many emigrants went through when coming to the U.S.
Chris: Aurobiogaphical story of being Korean. She shared with us the relationship with her mother and her struggle between Korean tradition and American culture. I was able to relate much of her stroy to the reading.
Steve Newman
The presentations for a Woman Warrior were very interesting. The fish stomach story and the lychees that Mandy presented were a great insight into the Asian food culture. The chinese calligraphy that Jodi did were great. I have always been fascinated with how the Chinese written language is as much art as it is an expression of their culture. The art that Chris drew was great. He is very talented and it was great for me to able to see how the first scene from the book looked on paper. The autobiographies, the letter, and the web-site all rounded out another great set of presentations.
Matt Yzuel
Noemi Zendejas
Like the presentation on eating goat stomach, I too have had to endure an occasstion when foreign looking food was placed before me. The situation your placed in when this happens leaves you feeling numb because your are undecided wheter to tell the person you don't like the food or wheter to tough it out and eat. But what I did was I toughed it out during the dinner, and later let my friend know that I hoped I hadn't offended him by not finishing my dinner. I explained to him that I was not used to eating Phillipino food, he said he understood. To this day I still don't know what to do if this was to happen again, I guess just tough it out and hope for the best.
The class presentations were great. I particularly liked the presentation on Chinese landscapes and Chinese characters. I have never had "leeches" before so I must thank Mandy for the opportunity. I would like to thank Melanie, Chris, and Ryan for giving background on their families. Overall another successful round of presentations and I look forward to the final set.
Mike Leahy
I am constantly amazed at the personal testimonies people share about their family, their heritage. I think it is so interesting to hear about the experiences of people who came to this country, not being born here. This group had many fascinating presentations. I was very impressed by the painting Chris shared. I thought he portrayed the ideas utilized in Japanese art very well. I enjoyed the video collage of Chinatown. I have never been there, although I only lived an hour away for years. I am inspired and would like to go there and experience it for myself.
Jennifer Barnett